Position information assisted beamforming

ABSTRACT

A beamforming control module including processing circuitry may be configured to receive fixed position information indicative of a fixed geographic location of a base station, receive dynamic position information indicative of a three dimensional position of at least one mobile communication station, determine an expected relative position of a first network node relative to a second network node based on the fixed position information and the dynamic position information, and provide instructions to direct formation of a steerable beam from an antenna array of the second network node based on the expected relative position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/833,178 filed Mar. 15, 2013, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Example embodiments generally relate to wireless communications and,more particularly, relate to the use of position information to guidethe direction of steerable antenna beams to facilitate wirelesscommunication.

BACKGROUND

High speed data communications and the devices that enable suchcommunications have become ubiquitous in modern society. These devicesmake many users capable of maintaining nearly continuous connectivity tothe Internet and other communication networks. Although these high speeddata connections are available through telephone lines, cable modems orother such devices that have a physical wired connection, wirelessconnections have revolutionized our ability to stay connected withoutsacrificing mobility.

However, in spite of the familiarity that people have with remainingcontinuously connected to networks while on the ground, people generallyunderstand that easy and/or cheap connectivity will tend to stop once anaircraft is boarded. Aviation platforms have still not become easily andcheaply connected to communication networks, at least for the passengersonboard. Attempts to stay connected in the air are typically costly andhave bandwidth limitations or high latency problems. Moreover,passengers willing to deal with the expense and issues presented byaircraft communication capabilities are often limited to very specificcommunication modes that are supported by the rigid communicationarchitecture provided on the aircraft.

Conventional ground based communication systems have been developed andmatured over the past couple of decades. While advances continue to bemade in relation to ground based communication, and one might expectthat some of those advances may also be applicable to communication withaviation platforms, the fact that conventional ground basedcommunication involves a two dimensional coverage paradigm and thatair-to-ground (ATG) communication is a three dimensional problem meansthat there is not a direct correlation between the two environments.Instead, many additional factors must be considered in the context ofATG relative to those considered in relation to ground basedcommunication.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

Some example embodiments may therefore be provided to enhance theability of communication nodes that employ beamforming technology tocommunicate more efficiently and reliably. In some embodiments, abeamforming control module may be provided on either mobile nodes of anair-to-ground network or base stations of the network (or both). Thebeamforming control module may utilize position information of both thebase stations and the mobile nodes to determine an expected relativeposition of one such platform from the other. The expected relativeposition may then be used for control of beamforming so thatdirectionally steerable beams may be formed based on the expectedrelative position. Initial synchronization coverage ranges may thereforebe enhanced and base stations of the network can be spaced fartherapart.

In one example embodiment, a beamforming control module is provided. Thebeamforming control module may include processing circuitry configuredto receive fixed position information indicative of fixed geographiclocations of a plurality of base stations, receive dynamic positioninformation indicative of a three dimensional position of at least onemobile communication station, determine an expected relative position ofa first network node relative to a second network node based on thefixed position information and the dynamic position information, andprovide instructions to direct formation of a steerable beam from anantenna array of the second network node based on the expected relativeposition.

In another example embodiment, an ATG network is provided. The networkmay include a plurality of base stations and at least one aircraft. Thenetwork may also include a beamforming control module. The beamformingcontrol module may include processing circuitry configured to receivefixed position information indicative of fixed geographic locations of aplurality of base stations, receive dynamic position informationindicative of a three dimensional position of at least one mobilecommunication station, determine an expected relative position of afirst network node relative to a second network node based on the fixedposition information and the dynamic position information, and provideinstructions to direct formation of a steerable beam from an antennaarray of the second network node based on the expected relativeposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an aircraft moving through the coverage areas ofdifferent base stations over time in accordance with an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system for employing positionalinformation for assisting with beamforming in accordance with an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates control circuitry that may be employed to assist inusing positional information for assisting with beamforming according toan example embodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a method for employing positionalinformation for assisting with beamforming in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some example embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not allexample embodiments are shown. Indeed, the examples described andpictured herein should not be construed as being limiting as to thescope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather,these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” isto be interpreted as a logical operator that results in true wheneverone or more of its operands are true. As used herein, the terms “data,”“content,” “information” and similar terms may be used interchangeablyto refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and/or stored inaccordance with example embodiments. Thus, use of any such terms shouldnot be taken to limit the spirit and scope of example embodiments.

Typical wireless communication systems include end-user devices, whichmay be used at a particular location or in a mobile setting, and a fixedset of equipment with access to interconnection to the Internet and/orthe Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The end user devicecommunicates wirelessly with the fixed equipment, referred to as thebase station.

In some embodiments, a base station employing beamforming may employ anantenna array to generate beams in the direction of the target device,enhancing the coverage range when the location of the device is known tothe base station. When the location of the device is not known to thebase station, then a beam may not be formed in the direction of thetarget airplane. In this case where beamforming is not present, thecoverage range to the base station is reduced. The wireless system mustbe designed to provide for the lowest common denominator. If a deviceaccessing the system for the first time has a less favorable coveragerange, then the base stations must be placed closer together to ensurethe unknown devices may gain access to the system. Placing the basestations closer together increases the network cost.

If a wireless device has not yet been in contact with the base station,then the device may end up with insufficient coverage margin tocommunicate with the base station because the beamforming gain is notpresent. Therefore, the initial synchronization of the wireless devicewith the base station is a potential problem in a wireless systememploying beamforming. To address this potential problem, it may bepossible to utilize position information of receiving stations and basestations to facilitate beamforming at either or both ends of thewireless communication links that are to be established.

In an air-to-ground (ATG) communications system, the end-user equipment(or receiving stations) may be installed or otherwise present on anairplane or other aerial platform. Thus, as mentioned above, theutilization of position information may not simply involve knowledge oflatitude and longitude, relative positioning, global positioning system(GPS) coordinates, and/or the like. Instead, knowledge of threedimensional (3D) position information including altitude may berequired. If the end-user equipment is installed with a GPS device orother means of tracking location, speed, and altitude, then thislocation-specific information may be employed by the wireless system toenhance the initial synchronization coverage range by enhancingbeamforming. For example, a wireless device may be aware of its locationin the three-dimensional airspace, and may be capable of derivingknowledge of the bearing and airspeed of the airplane.

One aspect of some example embodiments is to store the wireless networkbase station configuration in reconfigurable memory. The device, withits knowledge of location and heading, could assess the best-servingbase station from this database and direct initial access requeststoward the expected best-serving base station. This aspect of theinvention enables beamforming by the device upon initial systemaccess/synchronization. In some embodiments, the wireless system mayemploy assets to actively track all devices (e.g., all aircraft or otherknown receiving devices) in the 3D airspace. As an example, airplanes(or devices thereon) taking off from an airport may access andsynchronize with a base station near the airport. Once known to thewireless system, each device may periodically transmit positioninformation (e.g., coordinates, altitude, and speed) to the serving basestation. The base station may share the position information with acentralized server or other device in the core network. The centralizedserver (or other processing device) may then track each device, comparethe device location against a database of base stations in the system,and determine when a particular device may be moving into a differentbase station's coverage area. The device location may be shared with thenew base station, and the new base station may then form a directionalbeam toward the wireless device to share synchronization information.

Example embodiments may therefore combine knowledge of fixed basestations positions (e.g., in 2D) with knowledge of moving receivingstation positions (e.g., in 3D) to provide beamforming from both theairplane (or devices thereon) and the base station when the device hasnot yet acquired a neighboring base station. Full beamforming coveragebenefits may therefore be maintained within an ATG system, reducing thecost of network coverage and improving handoff reliability. The improvedgain by using directed beams may enable aircraft to engage incommunications with potentially distant base stations on the ground.Accordingly, an ATG network may potentially be built with base stationsthat are much farther apart than the typical distance between basestations in a terrestrial network.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual view of an aircraft moving through acoverage zone of different base stations to illustrate an exampleembodiment. As can be seen in FIG. 1, an aircraft 100 may be incommunication with a first base station (BS) 110 at time to via awireless communication link 120. The aircraft 100 may therefore includewireless communication equipment onboard that enables the aircraft 100to communicate with the first BS 110, and the first BS 110 may alsoinclude wireless communication equipment enabling communication with theaircraft 100. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the wirelesscommunication equipment at each end may include radio hardware and/orsoftware for processing wireless signals received at correspondingantenna arrays that are provided at each respective device incommunication with their respective radios. Moreover, the wirelesscommunication equipment of example embodiments may be configured toemploy beamforming techniques to utilize directive focusing, steering,and/or formation of beams using the antenna arrays. Accordingly, for thepurposes of this discussion, it should be assumed that the wirelesscommunication link 120 between the aircraft 100 and the first BS 110 maybe formed using at least one link established via beamforming. In otherwords, either the first BS 110 or the aircraft 100, or both, may includeradio control circuitry capable of employing beamforming techniques forestablishment of the wireless communication link 120.

The first BS 110 has a fixed position geographically and thereforeposition information regarding the location of the first BS 110 can beknown. In some cases, an estimate of the coverage area defining theregion in which first BS 110 is capable of providing wirelessconnectivity to aircraft may also be known or estimable (e.g., at theaircraft 100 and/or at the first BS 110). Meanwhile, the position of theaircraft in 3D space may also be known or estimable at any given time(e.g., at the aircraft 100 and/or at the first BS 110). Furthermore, itshould be appreciated that the coverage area of the first BS 110 maypossibly be altitude dependent, in some cases. In this regard, forexample, the latitudinal and longitudinal coverage area projected ontothe surface of the earth for the first BS 110 may be differently sizedfor different altitudes. Accordingly, for example, based on the knownposition and coverage characteristics of the first BS 110 and theposition information of the aircraft 100 at time to, it may bedeterminable that the aircraft 100 is nearing or at the edge of thecoverage area of the first BS 110 at time to.

A second BS 130, which may have similar performance and functionalcharacteristics to those of the first BS 110, may be locatedgeographically such that, for the current track of the aircraft 100, thesecond BS 130 is a candidate for handover of the aircraft 100 tomaintain a continuous and uninterrupted communication link between theaircraft 100 and ground-based base stations of an ATG wirelesscommunication network at time t₀. As discussed above, it may be helpfulfor the second BS 130 to be aware of the approach of the aircraft 100 sothat the second BS 130 can employ beamforming techniques to direct abeam toward the aircraft 100. Additionally or alternatively, it may behelpful for the aircraft 100 to be aware of the existence and locationof the second BS 130 so that the wireless communication equipment on theaircraft 100 may employ beamforming techniques to direct a beam towardthe second BS 130. Thus, at least one of the second BS 130 or thewireless communication equipment on the aircraft 100 may employbeamforming techniques assisted by knowledge of position information tofacilitate establishment of the wireless communication link 140 betweenthe wireless communication equipment on the aircraft 100 and the secondBS 130.

In accordance with an example embodiment, a beamforming control modulemay be provided that employs both 2D knowledge of fixed base stationlocation and 3D knowledge of position information regarding a receivingstation on an aircraft to assist in application of beamformingtechniques. The beamforming control module of an example embodiment maybe physically located at any of a number of different locations withinan ATG communication network. FIG. 2 illustrates a functional blockdiagram of an ATG communication network that may employ an exampleembodiment of such a beamforming control module.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first BS 110 and second BS 130 may each be basestations of an ATG network 200. The ATG network 200 may further includeother BSs 210, and each of the BSs may be in communication with the ATGnetwork 200 via a gateway (GTW) device 220. The ATG network 200 mayfurther be in communication with a wide area network such as theInternet 230 or other communication networks. In some embodiments, theATG network 200 may include or otherwise be coupled to a packet-switchedcore network.

In an example embodiment, the ATG network 200 may include a networkcontroller 240 that may include, for example, switching functionality.Thus, for example, the network controller 240 may be configured tohandle routing calls to and from the aircraft 100 (or to communicationequipment on the aircraft 100) and/or handle other data or communicationtransfers between the communication equipment on the aircraft 100 andthe ATG network 200. In some embodiments, the network controller 240 mayfunction to provide a connection to landline trunks when thecommunication equipment on the aircraft 100 is involved in a call. Inaddition, the network controller 240 may be configured for controllingthe forwarding of messages and/or data to and from the mobile terminal10, and may also control the forwarding of messages for the basestations. It should be noted that although the network controller 240 isshown in the system of FIG. 2, the network controller 240 is merely anexemplary network device and example embodiments are not limited to usein a network employing the network controller 240.

The network controller 240 may be coupled to a data network, such as alocal area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and/or awide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet 230) and may be directly orindirectly coupled to the data network. In turn, devices such asprocessing elements (e.g., personal computers, laptop computers,smartphones, server computers or the like) can be coupled to thecommunication equipment on the aircraft 100 via the Internet 230.

Although not every element of every possible embodiment of the ATGnetwork 200 is shown and described herein, it should be appreciated thatthe communication equipment on the aircraft 100 may be coupled to one ormore of any of a number of different networks through the ATG network200. In this regard, the network(s) can be capable of supportingcommunication in accordance with any one or more of a number offirst-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G),fourth-generation (4G) and/or future mobile communication protocols orthe like. In some cases, the communication supported may employcommunication links defined using unlicensed band frequencies such as2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz.

As indicated above, a beamforming control module may be employed onwireless communication equipment at either or both of the network sideor the aircraft side in example embodiments. Thus, in some embodiments,the beamforming control module may be implemented in a receiving stationon the aircraft (e.g., a passenger device or device associated with theaircraft's communication system). In some embodiments, the beamformingcontrol module may be implemented in the network controller 240 or atsome other network side entity.

FIG. 3 illustrates the architecture of a beamforming control module 300in accordance with an example embodiment. The beamforming control module300 processing circuitry 310 configured to provide control outputs forgeneration of beams from an antenna array disposed at either theaircraft 100 or one of the base stations based on processing of variousinput information. The processing circuitry 310 may be configured toperform data processing, control function execution and/or otherprocessing and management services according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 310may be embodied as a chip or chip set. In other words, the processingcircuitry 310 may comprise one or more physical packages (e.g., chips)including materials, components and/or wires on a structural assembly(e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide physicalstrength, conservation of size, and/or limitation of electricalinteraction for component circuitry included thereon. The processingcircuitry 310 may therefore, in some cases, be configured to implementan embodiment of the present invention on a single chip or as a single“system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipset mayconstitute means for performing one or more operations for providing thefunctionalities described herein.

In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 310 may include oneor more instances of a processor 312 and memory 314 that may be incommunication with or otherwise control a device interface 320 and, insome cases, a user interface 330. As such, the processing circuitry 310may be embodied as a circuit chip (e.g., an integrated circuit chip)configured (e.g., with hardware, software or a combination of hardwareand software) to perform operations described herein. However, in someembodiments, the processing circuitry 310 may be embodied as a portionof an on-board computer. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry310 may communicate with various components, entities and/or sensors ofthe ATG network 200.

The user interface 330 (if implemented) may be in communication with theprocessing circuitry 310 to receive an indication of a user input at theuser interface 330 and/or to provide an audible, visual, mechanical orother output to the user. As such, the user interface 330 may include,for example, a display, one or more levers, switches, indicator lights,buttons or keys (e.g., function buttons), and/or other input/outputmechanisms.

The device interface 320 may include one or more interface mechanismsfor enabling communication with other devices (e.g., modules, entities,sensors and/or other components of the ATG network 200). In some cases,the device interface 320 may be any means such as a device or circuitryembodied in either hardware, or a combination of hardware and softwarethat is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to modules,entities, sensors and/or other components of the ATG network 200 thatare in communication with the processing circuitry 310.

The processor 312 may be embodied in a number of different ways. Forexample, the processor 312 may be embodied as various processing meanssuch as one or more of a microprocessor or other processing element, acoprocessor, a controller or various other computing or processingdevices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmablegate array), or the like. In an example embodiment, the processor 312may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 314 orotherwise accessible to the processor 312. As such, whether configuredby hardware or by a combination of hardware and software, the processor312 may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry inthe form of processing circuitry 310) capable of performing operationsaccording to embodiments of the present invention while configuredaccordingly. Thus, for example, when the processor 312 is embodied as anASIC, FPGA or the like, the processor 312 may be specifically configuredhardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively,as another example, when the processor 312 is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specifically configure theprocessor 312 to perform the operations described herein.

In an example embodiment, the processor 312 (or the processing circuitry310) may be embodied as, include or otherwise control the operation ofthe beamforming control module 300 based on inputs received by theprocessing circuitry 310 responsive to receipt of position informationassociated with various relative positions of the communicating elementsof the network. As such, in some embodiments, the processor 312 (or theprocessing circuitry 310) may be said to cause each of the operationsdescribed in connection with the beamforming control module 300 inrelation to adjustments to be made to antenna arrays to undertake thecorresponding functionalities relating to beamforming responsive toexecution of instructions or algorithms configuring the processor 312(or processing circuitry 310) accordingly. In particular, theinstructions may include instructions for processing 3D positioninformation of a moving receiving station (e.g., on an aircraft) alongwith 2D position information of fixed transmission sites in order toinstruct an antenna array to form a beam in a direction that willfacilitate establishing a communication link between the movingreceiving station and one of the fixed transmission stations asdescribed herein.

In an exemplary embodiment, the memory 314 may include one or morenon-transitory memory devices such as, for example, volatile and/ornon-volatile memory that may be either fixed or removable. The memory314 may be configured to store information, data, applications,instructions or the like for enabling the processing circuitry 310 tocarry out various functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. For example, the memory 314 could be configuredto buffer input data for processing by the processor 312. Additionallyor alternatively, the memory 314 could be configured to storeinstructions for execution by the processor 312. As yet anotheralternative, the memory 314 may include one or more databases that maystore a variety of data sets responsive to input sensors and components.Among the contents of the memory 314, applications and/or instructionsmay be stored for execution by the processor 312 in order to carry outthe functionality associated with each respectiveapplication/instruction. In some cases, the applications may includeinstructions for providing inputs to control operation of thebeamforming control module 300 as described herein.

In an example embodiment, the memory 314 may store fixed positioninformation 350 indicative of a fixed geographic location of at leastone base station. In some embodiments, the fixed position information350 may be indicative of the fixed geographic location of a single basestation of the ATG network 200. However, in other embodiments, the fixedposition information 350 may be indicative of the fixed geographiclocation of multiple ones (or even all) of the base stations of the ATGnetwork 200. In other embodiments, the fixed position information 350may be stored at another memory device either onboard the aircraft 100or accessible to the network controller 240. However, regardless of thestorage location of the fixed position information 350, such informationmay be read out of memory and provided to (and therefore also receivedat) the processing circuitry 310 for processing in accordance with anexample embodiment.

The processing circuitry 310 may also be configured to receive dynamicposition information 360 indicative of a three dimensional position ofat least one mobile communication station (which should be appreciatedto be capable of transmission and reception of signaling in connectionwith two way communication). The mobile communication station may be apassenger device onboard the aircraft 100, or may be a wirelesscommunication device of the aircraft 100 itself. The wirelesscommunication device of the aircraft 100 may transfer information to andfrom passenger devices (with or without intermediate storage), or maytransfer information to and from other aircraft communications equipment(with or without intermediate storage).

In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 310 may be configuredto determine an expected relative position of a first network node(e.g., one of the base station or the mobile communication station)relative to a second network node (e.g., the other one of the basestation or the mobile communication station) based on the fixed positioninformation 350 and the dynamic position information 360. In otherwords, the processing circuitry 310 may be configured to utilizeinformation indicative of the locations of two devices or network nodesand determine where the network nodes are relative to one another fromthe perspective of either one of the network nodes (or both). Trackingalgorithms may be employed to track dynamic position changes and/orcalculate future positions based on current location and rate anddirection of movement. After the expected relative position isdetermined, the processing circuitry 310 may be configured to provideinstructions to direct formation of a steerable beam from an antennaarray of the second network node based on the expected relativeposition. The instructions may be provided to a control device that isconfigured to adjust characteristics of an antenna array (of either themobile communication station or the base station) to form directionallysteerable beams steered in the direction of the expected relativeposition. Such steerable beams may, for example, have azimuth andelevation angle widths of 5 degrees or less. Moreover, in some cases,such steerable beams may have azimuth and elevation angle widths of 2degrees or less. However, larger sized steerable beams may also beemployed in some embodiments.

In an example embodiment, the first network node may be disposed at (orbe) the base station, and the second network node may be disposed at themobile communication station (e.g., the aircraft 100 or communicationequipment thereon). However, alternatively, the first network node couldbe the mobile communication station, and the second network node couldbe at the base station. Furthermore, multiple instances of thebeamforming control module 300 may be provided so that both the mobilecommunication station and the base station may employ the beamformingcontrol module 300. Alternatively or additionally, multiple instances ofthe beamforming control module 300 may be provided on multiple aircraftand/or on multiple base stations so that each device (or at leastmultiple devices) within the ATG network 200 may be able to directsteerable beams toward other devices in the network on the basis ofusing position information to estimate the relative position of a deviceto focus a beam toward the expected or estimated relative position.

In some embodiments, regardless of where the beamforming control module300 is instantiated, determining the expected relative position mayinclude determining a future mobile communication station position andcorresponding estimated time at which the mobile communication stationwill be at the future mobile communication station position. In otherwords, the processing circuitry 310 may be configured to utilize thedynamic position information to not only determine a current position ofthe mobile communication station, but to further determine a futureposition of the mobile communication station so that, for example, theexpected relative position may be determined for some future time atwhich at beam may be focused based on the expected relative position toestablish a communication link with a moving aircraft or communicationequipment thereon.

In an example embodiment, the dynamic position information 360 mayinclude latitude and longitude coordinates and altitude to provide aposition in 3D space. In some cases, the dynamic position information360 may further include heading and speed so that calculations can bemade to determine, based on current location in 3D space, and theheading and speed (and perhaps also rate of change of altitude), afuture location of the aircraft 100 at some future time. In some cases,flight plan information may also be used for predictive purposes toeither prepare assets for future beamforming actions that are likely tobe needed, or to provide planning for network asset management purposes.In some embodiments, the beamforming control module 300 may be disposedat the aircraft 100. In such cases, the fixed position information 350may be provided for multiple base stations to define the networktopology and may be stored in a memory device (e.g., memory 314) onboardthe aircraft 100.

The dynamic position information 360 may be determined by any suitablemethod, or using any suitable devices. For example, the dynamic positioninformation 360 may be determined using global positioning system (GPS)information onboard the aircraft 100, based on triangulation of aircraftposition based on a direction from which a plurality of signals arriveat the aircraft 100 from respective ones of the base stations, usingaircraft altimeter information, using radar information, and/or thelike, either alone or in combination with each other.

In an example embodiment, the beamforming control module 300 may bedisposed at the network controller 240, which may be in communicationwith the base stations of the ATG network 200. In such an example, thebeamforming control module 300 may be configured to receive dynamicposition information 360 for a plurality of aircraft, and to provideexpected relative position information for each aircraft relative to oneof the base stations. Alternatively or additionally, the beamformingcontrol module 300 may be configured to receive dynamic positioninformation, and to provide expected relative position information forat least one aircraft relative to at least two base stations. In stillother embodiments, the beamforming control module 300 may additionallyor alternatively be configured to receive dynamic position information,and to provide multiple expected relative positions for respectivedifferent aircraft with respect to multiple base stations.

In some example embodiments, the beamforming control module 300 mayfurther be configured to operate in a mesh network context. For example,the beamforming control module 300 may be configured to utilize dynamicposition information associated with multiple aircraft in order to formmesh communication links between aircraft. Thus, for example, oneaircraft could relay information to another aircraft from a terrestrialbase station. In such an example, the expected relative position may bea relative position between two aircraft. In some embodiments, multiple“hops” between aircraft may be accomplished to reach remotely locatedaircraft, or even to provide self healing in a network where aparticular ground station is not operating, but there are other aircraftin the area that can relay information to fill in the coverage gaps leftby the non-operating ground station.

As such, the system of FIG. 2 may provide an environment in which thecontrol module of FIG. 3 may provide a mechanism via which a number ofuseful methods may be practiced. FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram ofone method that may be associated with the system of FIG. 2 and thecontrol module of FIG. 3. From a technical perspective, the beamformingcontrol module 300 described above may be used to support some or all ofthe operations described in FIG. 4. As such, the platform described inFIG. 2 may be used to facilitate the implementation of several computerprogram and/or network communication based interactions. As an example,FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method and program product according to anexample embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that eachblock of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart, maybe implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, processor,circuitry and/or other device associated with execution of softwareincluding one or more computer program instructions. For example, one ormore of the procedures described above may be embodied by computerprogram instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructionswhich embody the procedures described above may be stored by a memorydevice of a device (e.g., the network controller 240, a base station,the aircraft 100, a passenger or other communication device on theaircraft 100, and/or the like) and executed by a processor in thedevice. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructionsmay be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus (e.g.,hardware) to produce a machine, such that the instructions which executeon the computer or other programmable apparatus create means forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart block(s). Thesecomputer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readablememory that may direct a computer or other programmable apparatus tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture whichimplements the functions specified in the flowchart block(s). Thecomputer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to beperformed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus implement the functionsspecified in the flowchart block(s).

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart support combinations of means forperforming the specified functions and combinations of operations forperforming the specified functions. It will also be understood that oneor more blocks of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computersystems which perform the specified functions, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In this regard, a method according to one embodiment of the invention,as shown in FIG. 4, may include receiving fixed position informationindicative of a fixed geographic location of a base station at operation400. The method may further include, receiving dynamic positioninformation indicative of a three dimensional position of at least onemobile communication station at operation 410 and determining anexpected relative position of a first network node relative to a secondnetwork node based on the fixed position information and the dynamicposition information at operation 420. The method may further includeproviding instructions to direct formation of a steerable beam from anantenna array of the second network node based on the expected relativeposition at operation 430.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certainexemplary combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scopeof the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. In cases where advantages, benefits or solutions toproblems are described herein, it should be appreciated that suchadvantages, benefits and/or solutions may be applicable to some exampleembodiments, but not necessarily all example embodiments. Thus, anyadvantages, benefits or solutions described herein should not be thoughtof as being critical, required or essential to all embodiments or tothat which is claimed herein. Although specific terms are employedherein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless communication device on an aircraft,the wireless communication device comprising an antenna array and abeamforming control module configured to interface with the antennaarray to generate a steerable beam, the beamforming control modulecomprising processing circuitry configured to: receive fixed positioninformation indicative of a fixed geographic location of a base station;receive dynamic position information indicative of a three dimensionalposition of the aircraft; determine an expected relative position of theaircraft relative to the base station based on the fixed positioninformation and the dynamic position information; and provideinstructions to direct formation of the steerable beam from the antennaarray of the aircraft to the base station based on the expected relativeposition, wherein the beamforming control module directs formation ofthe steerable beam from the aircraft to a second aircraft responsive tothe base station being non-operating while the aircraft is transitingbetween coverage areas of cells in an air-to-ground (ATG) communicationnetwork and based on an expected relative position between the aircraftand the second aircraft.
 2. The wireless communication device of claim1, wherein the dynamic position information comprises latitude andlongitude coordinates and altitude of an aircraft.
 3. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 2, wherein the dynamic positioninformation further comprises heading and speed of the aircraft.
 4. Thewireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the fixed positioninformation is stored in a memory device onboard the aircraft, the fixedposition information including locations of a plurality of base stationsof a network.
 5. The wireless communication device of claim 1, whereinthe dynamic position information is determined using global positioningsystem (GPS) information.
 6. The wireless communication device of claim1, wherein the dynamic position information is determined based ontriangulation of aircraft position based on a direction from which aplurality of signals arrive at the aircraft from respective ones of aplurality of base stations.
 7. The wireless communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the dynamic position information is determined usingaircraft altimeter information.
 8. The wireless communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the dynamic position information is determined usingradar information.
 9. The wireless communication device of claim 1,wherein the beamforming control module is configured to receive multipleinstances of dynamic position information for a plurality of aircraft,and to provide expected relative position information for each aircraftrelative to one of the base stations of the network.
 10. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 1, wherein the beamforming control moduleis configured to receive dynamic position information, and to providemultiple expected relative positions for respective different aircraftwith respect to multiple base stations.
 11. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the steerable beam has azimuth and elevationangle widths of less than about five degrees.
 12. An air-to-ground (ATG)network comprising: a plurality of base stations including a first basestation and a second base station disposed at respective fixedgeographic locations; at least a first aircraft and a second aircraft;and a beamforming control module comprising processing circuitryconfigured to: receive fixed position information indicative of therespective fixed geographic locations of the base stations; receivedynamic position information indicative of a three dimensional positionof each of the first aircraft and the second aircraft; determine anexpected relative position of the first aircraft relative to the secondaircraft and the first and second base stations based on the fixedposition information and the dynamic position information; and provideinstructions to direct formation of a steerable beam, based on theexpected relative position, from an antenna array of the first aircraftto: the first base station while the first aircraft is in a coveragearea of the first base station, the second base station while the firstaircraft is in a coverage area of the second base station, or the secondaircraft in response to the first aircraft being in the coverage area ofthe first base station or the coverage area of the second base stationwhile a corresponding one of the first base station or the second basestation is non-operating while the first aircraft is transiting in theATG network.
 13. The ATG network of claim 11, wherein the steerable beamhas azimuth and elevation angle widths of less than about five degrees.14. A network device comprising a beamforming control module configuredto interface with respective antenna arrays of one or more network basestations to generate directionally steerable beams, the beamformingcontrol module comprising processing circuitry configured to: receivefixed position information indicative of a fixed geographic location ofa first base station and a second base station; receive dynamic positioninformation indicative of a three dimensional position of an aircrafthaving a communication node thereon, the dynamic position informationindicating that the aircraft will move from a coverage area associatedwith the first base station to a coverage area associated with thesecond base station at a future time; determine an expected relativeposition of the aircraft relative to the first base station and thesecond base station based on the fixed position information and thedynamic position information at the future time; and provideinstructions to direct formation of a steerable beam having both azimuthand elevation angle widths of less than five degrees from an antennaarray of the second base station to the aircraft based on the expectedrelative position to facilitate a handover of the communication nodefrom the first base station to the second base station.
 15. The networkdevice of claim 14, wherein the steerable beam has azimuth and elevationangle widths of less than two degrees.
 16. The network device of claim14, wherein the beamforming control module also provides instructions tothe communication node to enable the communication node to direct asecond steerable beam to the second base station.
 17. The network deviceof claim 14, wherein the steerable beam comprises a focused beamdirected to the aircraft without searching for the communication node.18. The network device of claim 14, wherein the dynamic positioninformation is received from the aircraft.
 19. The network device ofclaim 14, wherein the dynamic position information is received fromsources other than the aircraft.
 20. The network device of claim 14,wherein the dynamic position information is received from the aircraftand from sources other than the aircraft.